It is desirable in many applications to provide for heat transfer, such as to either heat or cool a fluid or other workpiece. For example, a heat exchanger may remove waste heat from a mechanical or electrical system, such as an air conditioning condenser. One form of heat transfer is convective heat transfer. However, convective heat transfer is not generally very efficient. Indeed, to transfer heat, particularly a relatively large amount of heat, from one fluid to another, utilizing convective heat transfer, a relatively large heat transfer surface must generally be provided. To provide an expansive heat transfer surface, heat exchangers have been developed that include a plurality of coils configured to carry a primary fluid. As such, heat is either transferred from or to the primary fluid circulating through the heat exchanger as a result of heat transfer between the primary fluid and a secondary fluid that surrounds and flows over the heat transfer surface of the heat exchanger.
In order to increase the heat transfer rate, a heat exchanger may include a fan that forces a secondary fluid across the coils of the heat exchanger. While the movement of the secondary fluid across the coils of the heat exchanger increases the heat transfer rate, the increase in the heat transfer rate comes at the expense of the energy required to operate the fan. In this regard, the fan may be electrically actuated so as to consume electrical energy during its operation. For example, a fan may be driven by an electrical motor. Alternatively, the fan may be driven by a mechanical source so as to consume mechanical energy during its operation. For example, the radiator fan of some automobiles may be driven by the rotational energy provided by the engine drive shaft. In either instance, the fan increases the energy consumption of a heat exchanger. As the fan is generally configured to be activated so long as heat transfer is required, the fan may consume energy over a fairly long period of time, thereby correspondingly increasing the operating costs and the carbon footprint of the heat exchanger.
In addition, in instances in which the fan is driven by electrical energy from an electrical power source, electrical wires generally extend from the electrical power source to the fan. In some applications, the routing, placement and handling of the electrical wiring may prove challenging, such as in instances in which the wiring must be routed over or along a hinge or other moveable joint.
As such, it would be desirable to provide a heat exchanger that consumes less energy, such as from an external electrical or mechanical power source, and that has a smaller carbon footprint. It would also therefore be desirable to provide a heat exchanger that did require wiring that potentially had to be routed over or along a hinge or other moveable joint.